The Fall
by Wynter's Fall
Summary: Betrayal, death, loss, everywhere Brom looks it's all he sees. As Galbatorix rises can Brom save Alagaesia? Strictly canon, probably zero deviations at all.


A/N: Well heloo guys, this is gonna be a fic about Brom and the rise of Galbatorix, hope you enjoy, note chapters not finished yet, reasons are at the bottom of the page.

Chapter 1: Struggling

"I sit there, I wonder, is this all really worth it? Is there some purpose to this life of endless existence, an ever occurring loop of hope, despair and death? I sit there, every day I sit there and yet I never find one. Is that wrong?" He asked as his mentor stared at him, laying on the patch of grass before them as the forest hummed with life. The birds singing from the trees as the animals wandered about merrily. Brom watched as they went about their ways, did they know? Did they know their life was utterly meaningless in the course of history, for they were nothing more, no one was antyhing more than pawns in the game played by Fate.

Oromis sighed at his student. "It is that thinking Brom that will be your undoing, but for now your lessons over for today, we'll come back to this tomorrow." The old man told him giving his student a pat on the shoulder and walking out of the forest heading back towards the city, his dragon Glaedr swooped down and began to walk with him, the deep rumbling of the dragon which vibrated through the forest indicated he was laughing at something. Of what Brom couldn't be too sure, the dragon had an odd sense of humour, the clouds, the animals perhaps. Maybe, just maybe it was Brom himself.

As he watched his master walk off he decided to go in the other direction. Saphira was away with the younger dragons being taught by the elders. Odds were she wouldn't be back for a week. So that left him, by himself with nothing to do except read scrolls, try and figure this magic thing out and learn a language which hadn't even been completed yet. Sometimes he wondered why he was still here, most of the time though he wondered why Saphira would pick him as a rider. Compared to everyone here he was bottom of the barrel. A queen like his dragon deserved far better than what she had chosen. But still, she chose him and he didn't, no he _couldn't_ let her down.

"Oi, Brom!" Where are you off to eh?" The deep voice which he had grown so used to over the last three months boomed out towards him.

He turned around with a smile to see the hulking figure crash into him knocking him to the ground, of course he didn't care the man before him was his brother, his best friend. Morzan stood before him, yanking him up off of the ground and gave him a dust-over beating away the dust that had gathered off his robes as talked. "Off somewhere lad? Didn't think they let the juniors have free time anymore, aren't there baths that need cleaning, saddles that need polishing?" He said guffawing with laughter as the two boys raced back to the stronghold of Doru Araeba. As they approached the city Brom always let his friend win, of course Morzan never knew this. The one time Brom had won something the kid had been in a mood for days refusing to speak to him.

No it was better that he acknowledged his place, he'd always be second best when it came to Morzan and he was fine with that for he loved the man, they were brothers. Two sides of the same coin, as inseparable as the pact between the dragons and riders. Ok… Maybe not that close but still, Morzan was always there if he needed someone, like how Brom would always be there for him. The dynamic duo, they were the future of the riders, the future of Alagaesia itself. Together they would defend their land through the might of their swords and the strength of their dragons. That was Morzan's dream, to be the greatest rider that ever lived.

Of course, Brom was realistic; he knew he had no chance of that ever occurring. He just wanted to be the best he could be, of course he didn't seem like he was going to amount to anything, the one thing he was good at though was the sword. And as they entered the city the first thing he did was look at the city, it was simple in design and layout, the markets, the training areas and forge loomed outside the rider's home. Although the city was simple, the way the buildings were built betrayed the look of simplicity a mere map provided.

The forge was built by the dwarves themselves, a place where Rhunon, the greatest smith in history resided. The building although simple was filled with technology far beyond that which should be available. The furnace filled with flames as hot as a dragons breath, the area kept a simple level temperature, the ideal temperature in which steel would be melted. For if they waited on the whims of nature the chance of the blades being built was minimal at best. A temperature inbetween the two extremes of heat and cold, as such the forge was a popular getaway in the heat of summer and the harsh cold of the winter. Rhunon of course wasn't ever pleased by this, hell she was never pleased by anything. Ranting to the council until each and every one of them was thrown out.

The markets were stalls laden with food for the taking, everything was free here. The main reason anyone travelled to the markets though was the music. The elves and men would get together and sing ballads that made the trees almost swoon from the beauty of their voices as it rang over the harsh din of the battlefields. It was here the men went to get merry, telling the ballads of their deeds and the legends of their forefathers and the riders before them. Brom himself had a penchant for stories and often listened to the ballads of an elf called Kialandi who taught him all he knew.

Then there was the training arena. Brom remembered all the times he watched the battles of men vs men, dragon vs dragon. The elves would always twirl around toying with the humans who faced them. Ducking drating out of the way with un-natural speed and elegance that could only make Brom sit back and admire their skill. He had fought with one before, and as he saw with the battles he watched. They always gave you an inkling of a chance, built up your confidence and struck you down almost the second after you began to think you had a chance of winning.

It was a trick that Brom wanted to learn, how to not only destroy your opponents physically but mentally as well. Because, if you could destroy your opponent mentally the battle was won before it even began. He'd once asked Oromis if this could be done when discussing battles and swordplay. The conversation still played vividly through his mind.

"_So Brom, how would you defend against an overhead slash?" The elf asked as he brought his sword swinging downwards towards his students skull. _

_Brom rolled back wards out of the blades path without thinking and believed Oromis to have over-balanced; finally he had a chance to prove himself, by beating his master. As he rolled onto the balls of his feet his master gained his composure almost immediately and clapped. _

"_A most astute observation! Most would simply block with their sword but that leaves their body exposed, in fact that is standard procedure. You're move however drives the opponent on the back foot as they have to stop, and stopping in the midst of battle can prove most fatal." Oromis replied as the Brom looked at his master and grinned. _

_Suddenly a thought took over him. "Sir, is it possible to enter an individual's mind? Similar to the bond between Saphira and myself? For if we could do that then there would be no need for a battle in the first place would there?" Brom asked his mentor thinking about the situation. _

_Orromis stared at the boy intently. _Where could he have thought of this idea himself? Most don't realise it until a few years into their training. At least_. He thought as he appraised the boy. _

"_It can be done but that is not until later in your training when you can grasp the concept of the idea and its repercussions."_

Brom was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of metal being drawn from its sheath, a sound which he had become all too familiar with as Morzan drew his blade and threw it at the young rider smirking as he did so. Brom caught the object and stared at the boy, his raven black hair billowing behind him. "Asking for a haircut eh Morzan?" Brom roared over the top of the din and the crowd laughed irritating the young rider who scowled before charging towards Brom with a cry of fury swinging his blade with the force of a madman.

Brom backpedalled countering the blows as Morzan thundered towards him waiting for the right moment. As he sidestepped a thrust and sliced off a lock of hair with a chuckle as they returned to their positions. It was the first time they had ever duelled before, the first time they'd clashed over more than a running race and it was probably the defining moment of Brom's life. As he watched he saw the elves watching his battle, Kialandi, Naelan, another elf he had befriended. But most of all he saw Oromis leaning on his staff watching intently and he could have sworn the elf winked at him as a thought crept into his mind. _Don't let him beat you; you don't always have to be second best._

Brom forced these words to stay at the front of his mind as they duelled, blow after blow. The two weren't matched it was just that Brom was doing what the elves did, toying with him. Morzan wasn't a thinker, he rushed forwards without thinking, he was predictable. The majority of the fight actually centred around Brom sidestepping or parrying his blows without actually offering any of his own. He was having fun, his opponent was frustrated, losing the mental battle between the two men. And then the moment came. Morzan swung overhead intending to bring the sword down upon his head with lethal force. Brom shocked by the action, did what he'd trained himself to do. Rolling backwards out of the blades reach he rolled upwards, Morzan trying to steady himself, he swiftly brought the blade to the base of his friend's throat.

A look passed between them, Morzan's face quickly turning from shock to anger as Brom smirked at his friend. Swiftly bringing the sword downward he sheathed it and walked back into the crowd as they congratulated him on his fine victory. "Well done sir!"

"A most inventive move, could you teach me?"

"Aah what swordsplay by the both of you!"

Brom accepted the comments gratefully, the only person he really wanted to see though was Oromis, he searched through the see of faces before seeing the elf smile at him and with a wink he vanished from the crowd returning to the hold. He whirled round to see Morzan, but his friend was gone from the battlefield already, although it wasn't to be expected the kid had a hell of a temper but at this point Brom couldn't really care, he'd won some respect for himself and maybe, just maybe a little sense of self-belief, maybe he could be a decent rider. But it was going to take a hell of a lot of work and a little bit of luck, but hey he was as lucky as they could come, what could possibly go wrong?

A/N: Well that's the first half of the first chapter, reason the chapter's incomplete is because

It's still being written

I'm going away for the next few weeks

I wanted you opinion on it, is it good or bad? How could I work on it etc;

Anyways I had fun writing it chapter will usually be 4-5k and updates every month or so, depends on school ,just started my final year now

Anyways adios!


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